The Indian Act: more harm than help?
Universal health care has, since its creation, become synonymous with the Canadian welfare state. The social services provided through health care are seemingly universal, but when it comes to Indigenous populations the universality falters. The health care system fails indigenous communities in large part because of the complex and outdated legislation that dictates governmental support. The quagmire of responsibilities set out in the Indian act are compounded by the Federalist system which divides provinces and Indigenous communities under the umbrella of Federal funding. Mismanagement and archaic legislation has furthered systemic challenges for already marginalized communities. To address the challenges of the social programs that influence Indigenous lives, a critical lens must be brought to the historical progression of Canadian social policy.
The separation of indigenous peoples from the general Canadian population exempted the communities from much of the universal social programs emerging in the 1960’s. Health care extended to Indigenous peoples was provided by the Federal government and limited to on reserve health facilities. Problematic rules associated with ‘status indians’ meant that many Indigenous people were excluded from the minute social support provided under the Indian act. The lack of support and access to social programs compounded the inequalities between Indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians. Hot off the heels of mass social movements occurring during the sixties, Prime Minister Trudeau proposed the “White Paper” report with the aim of dismantling the Indian act and forcing the assimilation of Indigenous people into the Canadian identity. The report was unanimously condemned and sparked the essential debate surrounding Indigenous issues; respecting Indigenous sovereignty while offering federally backed universal social programs.
Federalism has impacted social programs greatly because of the division of responsibilities between the Federal and Provincial governments. Direct Federal funding for Indigenous programs is complicated by the role provincial governments play in the distribution of health care services. The multi leveled nature of social services to indigenous populations has created the quagmire of responsibilities between the Federal, Provincial and Native bands. The complexities have resulted in the detriment of Indigenous health and furthered socio economic challenges within Indigenous communities. The Federal government has long been pushing for independence in the administration of social services on native reserves. The difficulties arise when chronic health issues force Indigenous individuals to cross into the federal or provincial systems for increased care. This blindspot is nominally addressed by the Jordan principle. The Jordan principle arose out of an Indigenous boy’s death because of the squabbling of health officials over the financial responsibility of treatment, whether provincial or federal. This principle encapsulates the complexity of the federalist health care system and its real world effects on people and communities.
The necessity for addressing health care, and the social programs that are associated with it, emanates from the disproportionate effect it has upon Indigenous communities. Indigenous communities are on average six times more likely to be reliant upon income support, with unemployment at over three times the Canadian average. With the lower economic status Indigenous health is severely impacted. Higher instances of child mortality, diabetes, and cancers, plague Indigenous communities. As a result Indigenous health is essential to the well being of Indigenous communities as a whole. The national averages for life expectancy on reserves has slowly grown since the first reports conducted, but have shown a large discrepancy between off reserve living. The gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians is growing both in the fields of health, financial security, and education. While all should be addressed, health care should be primary because of its influence on all other aspects of Indigenous inequalities.
The Indian act has long been a barrier between Indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians. The result has been a sentiment of second class citizenry, poor social services, and complex legislation surrounding indigenous rights. Amendments to the Indian act have proven insufficient and as such it has effectively limited progress towards creating an equitable healthcare system. Drafting new amendments, or in a more extreme example, repealing the Indian act in favor of more modern legislation, poses many challenges. A strong direction, provided by Indigenous voices around Canada, and a progressive political climate creates the opportunity for new legislation to be created in order to solve social issues that have marked the Indigenous experience in Canada for decades. The legislation would need to reconcile with the Federal system and its division of responsibilities between the Federal government and its support for Provinces and Indigenous communities alike.
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